


Let the Light in

by Sylencia



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Alternate Ending, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Falling In Love, Healing, How Do I Tag, M/M, i have no idea how to tag this, no beta we die like men
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-21
Updated: 2019-06-21
Packaged: 2020-05-16 00:05:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,311
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19306600
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sylencia/pseuds/Sylencia
Summary: There is a prophecy. There has been once for so long. But Noctis decides he doesn't hav eto follow it. And he receives help in the strangest place.





	Let the Light in

**Author's Note:**

> So, I've written this in 2017, before Ardyn's Episode, before the animated prologue. So, it's probably weird and out of character and all that stuff. Hope you'll still enjoy it :)

i.

A little more than ten years it had been, since the last time Noctis found himself in the Citadel’s throne room but the feeling was still the same. From the familiar scent of old stone, to the way his steps echoed around him, how entirely too big the place was. Suffocating him, as it always did, making him feel too tiny, too small to ever be able to sit on that throne. Noctis knew he never was like his father, as a young adult, small and almost scrawny but he wasn’t anymore.  
  
And, as he was walking toward the throne’s pedestal, Noctis let himself flooded with the different sensations with a smile upon his lips. For it felt like being home, at last, like he was where he was meant to be, after all these years trapped inside the Crystal. Years that felt an eternity but still too short of a time, for what was to come and Noctis closed his eyes for a moment, letting his mind wander and ignoring the figure sitting on the throne. In his father’s place.  
  
In his place.  
  
It was so silent, around him. Around them, even. As if the time had been suspended, as if the world was holding its breath. For there was a prophecy to fulfil, to finally make true and Noctis knew things weren’t going to go the way it always had been written it would. He had learned so much, back in the Crystal, more than he ever dreamed of and Noctis was ready to accomplish his destiny, in ways the Astrals never imagined he would.  
  
“So, princeling, you came alone ?” A voice echoed around him, a familiar yet different voice, one he had grown to both love and forget for the last ten years and Noctis opened his eyes again, he stopped his tracks at the bottom of the stairs, staring back at the man sitting on the throne.  
  
Bodies were hanging from the ceiling and Noctis gazed upon them for a second but they were merely illusions, to try and scare him off. Noctis knew better, though, he knew of Ardyn’s abilities and he wasn’t going to let the man intimidate him.  
  
Instead, Noctis focused on Ardyn and the man hadn’t changed a bit, as the world grew older. Not a feat, really, now Noctis knew exactly who he was, now he knew what happened to him. His amber coloured eyes seemed to be burning, at the mere light of the moon, as a reminder of what he truly was but Noctis didn’t look away. Corrupted eyes that didn’t make him uncomfortable anymore and Noctis, instead, took a step forward, on the first step of the stair.  
  
“This,” Noctis spoke and his voice was as poised and calm as it could be. He didn’t fear what was coming, after all. There was nothing to fear, for the prophecy would come true, regardless of how the day would end. Noctis had accepted his destiny a long time ago now, he had accepted his role in the events to come and fear had faded from his heart. “Is where the King sits.”  
  
Ardyn’s laughter reverberated around him, cruel and thick and humourless and it would have sent shivers up Noctis’ spine, had he let fear control him still. But it wasn’t the case, and Noctis stepped forward again, to the next step, slowly but with as much determination as he was able to gather.  
  
“You do not need to keep these illusions up, though,” Noctis continued, holding up his gloved hand as Ardyn was about to speak. “For they do nothing to me.”  
  
“Is that so ?” Ardyn inquired and his tone was full of amusement, this time, as he propped his head inside his hand and looked down at him with a smile dancing upon his lips. “Shall I make them cry in pain, then ?”  
  
Noctis didn’t answer. Instead, he continued his slow ascension, his blue eyes burning with his many feelings still locked on the figure facing him, his body almost rigid in his royal garments and yet, they fit the situation so well, didn’t they ? He was going to sit on that throne tonight, one way or another. He only hoped it would be the way he chose and not the way the Astrals decided, a long time before his birth into the world.  
  
But the illusions eventually disappeared, vanishing from the air with a slight poof of dust and smoke and Noctis stopped his tracks as he reached the mid-stairs level. There he stood, holding his hands in his back, never reaching for his weapons. He wouldn’t need them tonight, or so he hoped and Noctis heaved a soft sigh, his eyes never leaving Ardyn’s slumped form in the throne. Such nonchalance, such boredom. Was he waiting for Noctis to engage the fight ? The one they had been set to for hundreds of years ? Noctis knew Ardyn had many tricks up his sleeve but, then again, so did he.  
  
“You have changed, princeling,” Ardyn commented after a pause, eyeing him from head to toes as if he was trying to understand what did change. “More than I planned but, oh well ..”  
  
Noctis didn’t answer. Instead, he looked over the throne, toward the Crystal and his skin tingled at the sight of it. Ten years, he had spent inside this thing, learning how to defeat the Starscourge and Ardyn. Ten years and yet, it felt like it was the first time Noctis was looking at it. Really looking at it, contrary the many past occasions he had and his heart faltered at the sight, a smile tugged at his lips.  
  
“Aren’t we going to fight ?” Ardyn asked, bringing Noctis’ attention back on him and his tone was becoming impatient now, almost hectic. “Isn’t it why you disappeared into that disgusting thing, in the first place ?”  
  
Noctis blinked, slowly but he didn’t answer yet. It was so calm, all around them, so calm and Noctis was almost surprised his friends didn’t barge in yet. Asking them to stay behind after all this time, asking them to leave it to him to handle Ardyn had probably been the most difficult thing in his life, especially with how this might end but Noctis hoped they’ d hold their promise. Or his plan wouldn’t go right. He needed this calmness, and he needed time.  
  
“I didn’t come here to fight, Ardyn,” Noctis eventually said, the man’s name rolling on his tongue in a sweet way. It held such a meaning to him now, so entirely mundane and yet so important and Noctis had grown to love it so much, he had started to whisper it in ways he never thought he would. In ways he never thought were possible either. “But to talk. From one king to another.”  
  
“King ?” Ardyn repeated, mocking and he laughed. “Do your archives even hold my name still, anywhere ?”  
  
“They don’t,” Noctis agreed with a nod. “But they will remember it, if you listen to me.”  
  
For a moment, Noctis thought Ardyn was going to laugh again, for his words but he didn’t. Instead, he straightened his back, a little, giving himself a little more stature and his amber coloured eyes shone again, under auburn locks of hair.  
  
“Do talk, then,” Ardyn all but spat. “Amuse me, jester.”  
  
But Noctis stayed silent, for now. His heart heavy in his chest, his skin tingling with the electricity in the air. There was a tension around them, something no one could ignore and Noctis knew where it came from. The Astrals were right there, watching them impatiently, waiting for their final fight, for their Chosen King to rid the world of the Starscourge and to kill Ardyn but it wasn’t Noctis’ plan. It wasn’t and might they strike him down, if they didn’t trust their champion enough to let him try. All his life, Noctis had grown in fear of the prophecy, of these words spoken so much time ago but these times were gone, now.  
  
Noctis had learned that fate couldn’t control his steps, if he decided he had enough.  
  
“Is this where you used to sit, back then ?” Noctis asked, after what seemed to be an eternity and looking around him curiously, as if it was the first time he was seeing the place. “When you were a King ?”  
  
“Are we truly here to reminisce ?” Ardyn chuckled a unamused laughter. “Before you pierce my heart with your sword ? Or try to, at least .. ?”  
  
“I am but curious,” the younger man answered, blinking and his eyes focusing on Ardyn again. “Allow me some carelessness, before the end ..”  
  
Ardyn seemed to ponder the words for an instant, golden eyes fixed on blue ones, his features tense and Noctis could see the cogs and gears working behind the expression. He was probably thinking this was a trap of some sort, to force him to lower his guard but it wasn’t. Noctis was merely following his plan, the one he had come up with the only person who could ever know how to vanquish Ardyn and his heart was pounding into his chest, as the time had come to follow it.  
  
“No,” Ardyn eventually whispered and he heaved a sigh. “The Citadel didn’t exist. My throne was nothing but a wooden chair to sit on, in a much smaller castle.”  
  
Noctis tilted his head to the side, like a curious cat, because he could see him now. What was left of the man Ardyn used to be, under the thick layer of daemons, under the thick rotten side of him and he smiled. A genuine, heartfelt smile and Noctis lowered his head, slowly rubbing at his chest, where his heart was.  
  
“So he is still here …” Noctis commented, resuming his ascension of the stairs, stepping on the first one in a slow motion to avoid startling Ardyn. All would be for nothing, if Ardyn fled and he’d have no way to hold him back.  
  
“He ?” Ardyn repeated the word with a frown and Noctis shrugged, stepping forward again.  
  
Noctis’ eyes shifted to the Crystal again, with hope, this time, as it seemed to shimmer under the soft lights of the throne room. He wasn’t sure anything would come from it, that anything at all would happen but the Crystal wasn’t part of his plan. Or, more precisely, Noctis didn’t rely on its help.  
  
“What are we going to do, now, Noct ?” Ardyn questioned slowly, his voice deep and his tone serious. “Please, do tell what you came for, if not to kill me ?”  
  
“Isn’t it obvious ?” Noctis blinked, focusing on the man again. “If I am not here to kill you, then I am here to save your soul.”  
  
“My soul had been lost for a long time,” Ardyn all but snorted, scratching at his face as daemon goo started to drip from his eyes and lips. A sight Noctis didn’t look away from and Ardyn’s smile widened. “Do you truly think ten years of your life were enough for you to come up with a solution ? When I've searched for a solution myself for decades, both before and after my corruption ? Don’t foul yourself, King of Light, as even the Astrals won’t back you up for this lunacy of yours.”  
  
Noctis continued his way, taking each step slowly, his eyes fixed on Ardyn, never looking away from him, not even from his demonic face. It hurt, to see it again after all this time, his heart bled as much as the daemon’s substance dripped from Ardyn’s face but Noctis ignored it all, until he was standing in front of his throne, tall.  
  
Silence took over again, as there was a hesitance, as Ardyn didn’t know what he was supposed to do, now. Noctis was at arm’s length and he probably was able to kill him, in one swipe of a sword, if he truly wanted to, and his eyes shifted to the broken side of the throne room, on his right, his escape route if he needed one. But Noctis looked so sure of himself, so confident and he did change. From the little princeling he used to be, to a King, truly. It was magnificent, even if unsettling.  
  
“Ten years weren’t nearly enough to come up with a solution,” Noctis agreed, his heart heavy in his chest, as he was so close, now. “Did you know, though, that the Crystal keeps echoes of all those who touch it ? Clean copies of a soul, echoes of the past it then uses to vibrate with one’s soul and purge his body from any impurity ?”  
  
“Ah, but it failed with me, didn’t it ?” Ardyn pressed his back against the throne’s backrest, a smile dancing on his lips but his face slowly turning to its normal state again as he looked up at the Crystal. “And it rejected me.”  
  
“But it allowed me to find the only kind of help I ever needed to defeat you,” Noctis admitted, and he couldn’t help but smile, as surprise flashed through Ardyn’s eyes.  
  
“And who, pray tell, accepted to help you ?”  
  
This time, when Noctis looked up at the Crystal again, he saw a clear image. The one of that particular echo and it was gone in the blink of an eye but it was enough to renew his courage.  
  
“What better teacher to show me how to fight you than you yourself, Ardyn ?” Noctis answered and it did its little effect on the man, as Ardyn watched him with confusion. Noctis had been confused, too, at first, when that echo of Ardyn came to him, when it revealed itself. The same traits, but such a different personality. Teasing still, taunting and an extrovert, but caring. A healer’s heart. Ardyn as he had been, the first time he communed with the Crystal. Young, kind and pure.  
  
“And so, you showed me the way, to fight but something else happened,” Noctis stated, deciding to stay as vague as he could with this part, again so he wouldn’t have Ardyn flee from him. “And we both realized how the Astrals had fucked with us, hiding the truth in plain sight.”  
  
A chill ran up Noctis’ spine, as he said so, his eyes shifted upward, toward the sky but he wasn’t going to care, this time. Astrals be damned. They had forced this fate upon him, upon Ardyn to cover their own mistakes and it was time someone stood up between them and the rest of the world.  
  
“For you are the prince of darkness, and I am the King of Light, we must both die,” Noctis continued, gazing at Ardyn’s face again and the man was listening, at least. Even if he didn’t seem to believe his words. “Or we must live, as a balance for the world and only one thing can force the Scourge away. Something the Astrals never included in the prophecy.”  
  
This time, Ardyn smiled. A wicked, terrible smile.  
  
“And what would that be ? Pray tell, Chosen King, what kind of stupid idea these damned Astrals put into your head,” Ardyn snarled, as if he knew better, as if he already knew that whatever Noctis had in mind, if was never going to work.  
  
“Ah but the Astrals are innocent, when it comes to putting that idea into my head,” Noctis corrected him while shaking his head. “It was you. Only you. Along with the way to heal your soul.”  
  
“A chimera, surely,” Ardyn commented, with the roll of his eyes.  
  
Such skepticism but Noctis ignored the words. He could feel something build up inside of his belly, something strong, that was pulling him backward, as if the Astrals themselves feared what might happen next. And they probably did, as they were unable to see what was to come, as they didn’t know what Noctis was going to do.  
  
But all Noctis could think about, now, was Ardyn’s echo in the Crystal. Such a pure soul, untainted, that never deserved such a destiny. So different from the man he was facing now, or the beast, really, as Ardyn’s body had been claimed by the daemons, by the Scourge. Still, the real Ardyn was still here, somewhere, hidden under the curse and Noctis was going to save him. The Astrals had refused to help a man that had served them all his life, and Noctis wanted to make it right.  
  
“But he had two thousand years, to find a solution,” Noctis whispered, his voice almost trembling as the pull was stronger and stronger. “And ten, to teach me.”  
  
Ardyn didn’t answer, this time. Sitting in the throne, still so relaxed and yet his eyes sometimes darted to the side. The beast thinking about its escape, probably, as it was scared of what Noctis might do, but Noctis wasn’t going to let it. Not when he was so close to his goal, when he could feel the end come. Because if this didn’t work, then he’d only have one solution left, the one he had learnt to refuse, during his time in the Crystal, learning from Ardyn’s echo things he never imagined he would.  
  
Things the echo itself never imagined was possible.  
  
Instinctively, Noctis pulled off his glove and reached for Ardyn’s face, touching his cheek with the tip of his fingers, happy to finally touch him. For his echo had been nothing but that, an echo and his body was right there, right in front of him and Noctis wanted to get closer so badly but he couldn’t. Not yet, he told himself. Not yet.  
  
“Can’t you feel it, Ardyn ?” Noctis continued, after a pause, after he stopped touching despite how it tugged at his heart. But his fingers tingled in need, like little sparks of magic trying to reach for Ardyn’s soul, to cleanse him of his impurity and Ardyn’s eyes shifted from his face to his hand and his fingers gripped the armrests of the throne.  
  
“Heal my soul, you say,” Ardyn whispered after a pause, and after he was able to calm down again, a knowing smile back on his lips. “But your Oracle is dead. I’ve made sure of it myself,” he almost spat, his eyes burning with malice. “The poor little thing ..”  
  
Noctis slowly pushed his glove into his pocket, reached up to take off the other and he watched his bare hands for a couple of seconds. The beast was trying to make him lose control and speaking of Luna probably was the best way to do so, in its wicked mind, but Noctis knew better. It was the first step of it, thrashing to break free, like a cornered animal trying to break away from its captors and Noctis looked up at Ardyn again, he tilted his head to the side, blinking.  
  
There was something, still, within the beast he was facing. Something that was keeping him in place, when Ardyn could have flown away already. Noctis knew his powers, he knew what kind of a fighter he was, powerful and skilled, he had two thousand years to practice, after all. The ultimate fighter and yet, he wasn’t moving, and it was all Noctis needed to know. Ardyn’s soul was still here, somewhere. Fighting back the daemons, for the first time in centuries, fighting to give Noctis the time to do what he had to do, and the echo had told Noctis it probably would happen. It had been dormant, for so much time, so many years but the touch of magic against his cold skin had woken him up and Noctis saw, the way he was gripping the throne’s armrests, his knuckles turning white under his strength, the way these amber coloured eyes kept shifting toward the obvious escape route and yet, he was unmoving, in the throne.  
  
Noctis could almost feel it, now.  
  
And he smiled, as his heart faltered again, as it throbbed into his chest. There had been so many chances, for their plan to fail, if Ardyn’s soul couldn’t feel him, if it had been neutralized for so long it was gone forever but it was right here, and it was fighting back and Noctis wanted nothing but to go on with what the echo taught him for the past ten years but he couldn’t, yet. He needed to wait for Ardyn’s soul to grow stronger, first, to make it easier, or else, it all would have been for nothing.  
  
“You grew stronger,” Ardyn acknowledged, a strange screech in the voice and his eyes wide, showing white all around his iris. “But you will never be nearly as strong enough to destroy the Scourge. It has grown too much, now. Eternal darkness fell upon the world and even if you manage to cleanse me, the daemons will linger, and destroy what’s left of Insomnia and the Kingdom. And I will win.”  
  
Noctis’ only answer was to step forward again, until he was towering the man, looking down at him. But Ardyn wasn’t impressed, it seemed, his golden eyes held determination and Noctis knew this fight wasn’t going to be an easy one to win. But he was going to win. Noctis had promised so, to that echo of Ardyn back in the Crystal, to his heart broken to witness what happened to him, to witness his downfall. An echo, yes but it held Ardyn’s entire personality still and Noctis had learnt so much, by its side. How to vanquish Ardyn if needed, yes but not only that.  
  
But the battle was starting now. Not a battle of fists and muscles, but one of will and strength of mind. None of them were going to back down, at this point, they both held on their convictions with such fierceness. While Noctis wanted to save Ardyn’s soul, to cleanse it and offer it the salvation it had deserved for all this time, and the daemons, the Scourge wanted to take over the world, to finally be free to roam around and the never-ending darkness had been quite a step, already.  
  
Still, Noctis was the King of Light, and his ultimate role was to bring it back to the world. And he would.  
  
And there was a swift movement, as Ardyn tried to flee, at last, pushing to his feet harshly, probably hoping to use the effect of surprise to go through that easy route on his right but Noctis was quicker. Without a hesitation, with power, he grabbed Ardyn’s throat, holding him in place on the throne. The man’s Adam’s apple bobbed against his palm, as Ardyn swallowed hard, unable to move despite his might and his strength and Noctis tilted his head to the side, a soft smile on his lips as he reached out with his free hand, to push the hair away from Ardyn’s face.  
  
“Always a runner, aren’t you ?” the King whispered, his tone playful but it wasn’t Ardyn he was talking to. No, it was the beast within, the Scourge that was plaguing his body and it bared its teeth, black liquid oozing from his eyes and lips again, growling like a rabid dog. “But you won’t be running, tonight. You will only die, and leave that body you’ve used for so long ..”  
  
“Such hope, princeling,” Ardyn spat but his voice sounded nothing like the one Noctis was used to. It was like a screech, like a dozen of them were speaking at the same time and the man’s eyes seemed to be burning with hate. “You are too late to save him .. He’s been dead for too long now ..”  
  
“Has he ?” Noctis smiled, caressing the side of Ardyn’s face with his free hand, ignoring the goo on his fingers. “But I can see him, deep down .. And you can too, can’t you ? He let you take control, after he lost hope, angry at the world. But I will show him the light.”  
  
“And you think a simple echo in that damned Crystal could have taught you how to defeat me ?” Ardyn, or the daemons, questioned. “Pray tell, then, how you hope to achieve something like this without killing him ..”  
  
Ardyn trembled against his hand and Noctis smiled again. Ardyn, the real Ardyn, was fighting back, harder and harder, to try and take over. A violent inner battle, but one that was necessary, and Noctis only watched, for a moment, his eyes locked on Ardyn’s, hoping to see any sign that it was working, hoping to see anything at all. For now he knew what to look for, and he had witnessed it before and Noctis ignored the burn on his fingers, from the daemon’s dark substance, and he waited, patiently, until Ardyn breathed in harshly and started to growl in a defiant way.  
  
“The echo taught me to become a healer, my own Oracle, and so I did,” Noctis whispered, pushing back the hair from Ardyn’s face and starting to focus on the task to come. “And if purifying your soul thanks to the Crystal is the last thing I am to do, Ardyn, so be it. For I have fallen for your echo, back in the Crystal, for you, truly and I will do everything to bring you back from the darkness. And as I am the King of light, I will bring it back into your heart, my love, and purge the world from its decay.”  
  
Noctis slowly moved his hand at the back of Ardyn’s head, gripping at his hair and lowering himself until his forehead touched the man’s. He closed his eyes, ignoring the trashing of the beast in front of him. He had never done this before, he knew only the theoric side of it, to channel his energy, his light, really, and cast the daemons away. The echo had warned him so many times, how it could backfire, how it could go wrong, the way it did with him, back then. For he had taken too many daemons in at the same time, unable to purify himself from their stain in time before they started corrupting his soul but Noctis wouldn’t make the same mistake, as the Crystal was over them, waiting to be used for its true purpose again.  
  
Light gushed from all around them, white and bright, brighter than any other light before, sipping into his body and Ardyn’s, burning his eyes despite his closed lids, forcing the shadows away and Noctis’ lips parted, as he focused on his tasks. The greatest task of his life, the one he was born for, the one the Astrals jeopardized his future for. For he was to fight the Starscourge and destroy it and to die for it, but Noctis had chosen another destiny, he had chosen another path and he had chosen Love.  
  
The Love he started to feel for Ardyn, for that echo of the man, pure and untainted, never fading. One Love so bright and innocent the Astrals never imagined it could happen, the sort of love that could never be felt again and the echo had said Love was necessary, to heal all these people, and he had felt so much for his citizens. And he had taught Noctis how to use that Love too, how to channel it the best way he could and Noctis, Chosen One, and King of Light, was going to save the man he had fallen for.  
  
Ardyn’s body went stiff in the throne, his breathing hitched and Noctis doubled his efforts, frowning as the daemons were fighting back, as they were trying to corrupt him instead. And Noctis was feeling that pull again, the Astrals trying to force him back, probably terrified he might not succeed and they’d be left without their champion anymore, with an empty prophecy and a broken world. But Noctis had made up his mind, the day the echo told him about the alternative way to cleanse the world, he had decided to heal, instead of kill, and he wasn’t going to go back on his word, now.  
  
Still, the daemons were strong, swarming around them, trying to diminish his powers, trying to whittle his little and Noctis yelped in pain, as they seemed to burn him from the inside out. But there was a twitch, in Ardyn’s body, movement, until Ardyn’s hand grabbed his wrist, softly enough for Noctis to realize that Ardyn was taking over his body’s control again and Noctis couldn’t resist anymore.  
  
Pushing on Ardyn’s forehead, Noctis had him tilt his head up and their lips linked, in a delicate kiss. Their first kiss, but the most important one. Slow and soft, at the beginning, as they were testing and tasting each other’s lips. But the light around them only intensified in answer, Ardyn’s light soon joining Noctis’ and the world came to a halt.  
  
For the first King of Light, and the last were joining their powers to cast the Starscourge away, united in the end. Chosen Kings, by each other, as the prophecy had foretold, and Love as their ultimate weapon, one even the Astrals could never imagine fighting against. And the darknesses recoiled, under a light so bright none could openly watch it ever. And it lasted, spreading from the Citadel to every corner of the world, healing the afflicted, burning the daemons, forcing them away, until it couldn’t last anymore and the Crystal itself shone instead.  
  
And then, Time ticked again and Noctis stumbled forward, exhausted, drained from all his strength. However, strong arms, welcoming arms were there to catch him and a soft, broken voice echoed around the throne room.  
  
“Thank you, my King.”

ii.

“Did you actually decide to go back to sleep in the middle of a fight against a behemoth ?”  
  
The room had been dark, filled with light snoring when Noctis had entered it and it only made his anger rise to higher levels. He couldn’t believe he hadn’t found Ardyn, after he finally killed that huge thing, back in the valley, he had searched everywhere in the total darkness of the night, looking for his lover everywhere, praying that the daemon hadn’t eaten him alive only to decide to go back to the motel, to the room they had rented for the night and to find Ardyn peacefully sleeping in the double bed, bare of all clothes and a soft smile on the lips.  
  
Of course, Noctis had shaken him awake and glared, as he accused him.  
  
“You were doing so good, my love,” Ardyn sleepily answered, only opening his eyes to glance at Noctis through his haze and nuzzling at his pillow again. “You didn’t need me. But you do need a shower now, you’re covered in blood.”  
  
“I can’t believe you’re even real,” Noctis sighed and he kicked the bed one more time, just because he could, before he walked to the near bathroom, undressed, rolling up his nose at his clothes as he did so, since they were soaked with blood and he turned the shower on, waited for the water to warm up.  
  
Two years, it had been since he delivered Ardyn and the world from the Starscourge and to say he had been busy was an understatement. And Noctis was tired. So tired he could barely stand, sometimes, so tired he needed to lie down on that bed more than he needed a shower and seeing his current state, it meant a lot.  
  
The last time Noctis had been as tired as he was tonight, was the night he cleansed the world from its decay. When he used the powers taught by Ardyn’s echo in the Crystal, when he healed Ardyn’s body and soul with Light, forcing all the Scourge out of him, forcing the daemons to retreat, else they’d be destroyed. Noctis had purged Ardyn, and he had purged a great part of the world but some of the beasts had been able to hide from the Light, had been able to survive and it was Noctis’ duty to continue his task of destroying them before anything else. Before claiming the throne as his, even.  
  
A regent had been named, before he left. Ignis, of course, as the man could single handedly run the whole Citadel with an easiness no one else could muster and Noctis trusted him more than anyone else. Accompanied by Gladiolus and Prompto, they were to rule the Kingdom until the daemons had completely disappeared and Noctis had promised his people he’d rid them of the decay himself, before he’d become their King.  
  
That settled, Noctis had to decide what to do with Ardyn. For Ardyn was the man he had fallen in love with, even if it only had been his echo but Insomnia, and all the territories Niflheim claimed as their own during the war couldn’t forgive the man for his actions. The fact that Ardyn was to become the first King of Lucis had been carefully erased from History, after his fall, no one could really grasp who he truly was, except an instigator of their pain and loss and for that, Ardyn would never become Noctis’ Consort. It would only raise hell from their citizens and Ardyn himself had stated it was the worst idea to begin with.  
  
Instead, he emitted the idea of following Noctis around, in his task of killing what was left of the Scourge, and Noctis had accepted the idea easily. Mostly because it had meant spending time alone with Ardyn, away from prying, curious eyes. As he had fallen for Ardyn’s echo back in the Crystal, the real Ardyn didn’t hold any of these feelings. Attraction, yes, easiness and proximity when they were close, yes, but not love, yet and he had looked so embarrassed when they discussed what to do with the man, when Prompto, enthusiastic as he ever was, asked if Ardyn was to become Noctis’ Consort.  
  
It had taken approximately a week to give in and accept each other’s feelings. For they had kissed, already, when Noctis came to pull Ardyn from his nightmare and it had been more than enough to know that they were meant to be. Probably not in the most prophetic way, but their communion, that fateful night, had their souls resonate in unison and with such strength it became painfully hard to resist.  
  
How exhausted Noctis had been, that same night, after the Light faded and his legs gave up on him but Ardyn had pulled him close, cradling him into his arms, allowing to sit upon the throne just as Noctis had said he would, aside that he had been sitting on Ardyn’s lap instead. His friends had come crashing into the throne room, after the Light disappeared, worried for their friend, their King, and they had found him safe, into the arms of their former enemy, with Ardyn nodding off too, drained of all energy, weak after two thousands years of being trapped inside his own body with the daemons swarming all around him, forbidding him to ever take control again.  
  
How scared they had been, Noctis’ friends, to find their King like this, and their anxiety only rose when they were unable to wake him up. One week, it had taken, for Noctis to open his eyes again. And just as much for them to finally trust him about Ardyn’s healing. They had been so reluctant to let Noctis go, accompanied with the man but Noctis had shown how stronger he had become, and that he would never need a bodyguard anymore.  
  
It didn’t mean Noctis didn’t miss his friends. Especially when he and Ardyn were to camp in the nature, just like he used to do with them, back then. He would have loved to have them around .. Noctis was making the best of his time alone with Ardyn. For he knew things would never be the same again, when he would be crowned.  
  
But really, he could kick the man in the shins, for being as reckless as he had been, leaving him to fight a behemoth on his own just so he could go back to sleep. Noctis knew how much Ardyn needed to sleep, since that day, how his soul still was healing from centuries of being trapped, but this was a no. And he wasn’t going to let it pass, this time.  
  
He could have been hurt, after all. Or worse, killed. That beast had been huge, and entirely too strong, even for him.  
  
The water was dripping red, when Noctis finally stepped under the showerhead, scrubbing at his hair, his face and his body to rid himself from the taints and the horrible smell. He didn’t think his clothes would ever come back clean after that, he’d better burn them, rather than trying to clean them and this was starting to become one terrible habit. Why did these things bleed so much, to begin with ? Couldn’t they just die in a clean way ?  
  
Noctis wrapped a towel around his body, when he was done showering, enjoying himself immensely still. Motels were rare, in the area, as it was close to Niflheim but this room was a luxury Noctis wouldn’t have refused himself. A safe place to sleep, a proper bathroom and meals. He missed Ignis’ cooking, sometimes but ah, he couldn’t be too hard to please, could he ?  
  
The room was deadly silent, when Noctis leant against the bathroom’s door, crossing his arms as he watched Ardyn from the distance but the silence only meant Ardyn wasn’t sleeping anymore. For Ardyn was a snorer. Light, yes but he even snored when he napped and Noctis never heard him sleep without the soft noise coming from him in the past two years. Soft eyes glittered from the distance, eyes Noctis had learned to love, with time as they weren’t that golden colour anymore, but a deep, almost impressive green. Even Ardyn’s echo’s eyes had shown their corrupted colour and it had been quite a surprise, when Noctis woke up from his haze and saw their real colour. A colour Noctis never saw before, not even Ignis’ eyes were as green as Ardyn’s and one look from his lover often was enough for the almost King of Lucis’ legs to turn to jelly.  
  
“Weren’t you tired ?” Noctis asked, after a moment of staring at each other. There wasn’t even enough light for him to see Ardyn in the darkness of the bedroom but there didn’t need to be. Feeling his nearby presence was enough.  
  
“It really depends on if you’re going to join me naked or not,” Ardyn’s answer came in a playful tone, one Noctis had grown used to but still, he rolled his eyes, pulling the towel away from his body and turning away so he could dry his hair a little more, lest it’d soak his pillow. However, before he joined the bed, Noctis pulled on his underwear and he sat next to Ardyn, turned on the light to examine the little cut he had on the wrist, ignoring the way Ardyn wrapped his arms around his waist and kissed his skin.  
  
“Don’t even think about it,” Noctis warned his lover, when Ardyn’s fingers slipped under the elastic of his underwear tentatively and he shot Ardyn a glance. “Gladio would probably kill you, did he know you let me fight on my own so you could go back to sleep.”  
  
“I couldn’t even hold my weight anymore,” Ardyn stated, nuzzling at Noctis’ hip. “And it’s not like I could have asked that thing to pause so I could tell you about it.”  
  
“You managed to make it back here, didn’t you ?” Noctis frowned, pulling gaus and disinfectant from his bedside table drawer to apply some on the cut.  
  
“Barely,” Ardyn answered with a deep sigh.  
  
Of course, Noctis knew about Ardyn’s condition, about how tired his body became after too much fighting. The daemons’ fault, the Scourge’s, even and the healing had drained so much from him, that even two years later, Ardyn’s stamina was his weak point. And Gladio had been really reluctant to let the two of them go together with no back-up, for that exact reason. For Ardyn wouldn’t be able to save Noctis’ ass, if needed.  
  
But Noctis didn’t care. He was angry at Ardyn for going back to the motel, instead of waiting for him. He had worried for his lover, after all, worried something happened to him while they had been fighting and he would have preferred for Ardyn to stay around. Even if he had to carry him.  
  
Still, Noctis knew how much his condition weighted on Ardyn’s moral. For Ardyn had been strong, back in his time, when he travelled the kingdom on his own to heal the afflicted, often slipping away from his own Shield’s attention to help his people. Strong enough to face daemons, strong enough to fight and now, the smallest effort drained him to the point he could barely walk, by the end. Or stay conscious, at all.  
  
Noctis couldn’t count the many times Ardyn passed out before the end of one of Gladio’s training sessions when they prepared themselves for their travel.  
  
The cut was nothing deep, nothing to worry about but Noctis cleaned it properly. He could never know what the remnant of the daemons might do to him, as he was tracking them down, hunting them like the beasts they were. Animals, yes but they had taken over the world once and it meant there had been some intelligence within them. Most of it coming from Ardyn, as he had hosted the Scourge, but instinct was strong in them still and Noctis wouldn’t allow them to grow again and to attack his Kingdom and his citizens. Not under his watch.  
  
Ardyn’s arms welcomed him happily, when Noctis, satisfied, put everything to the side, turned off the light and settled on the bed. There was a moment of hesitation, as Noctis still was a little angry at his lover, for having decided to leave without even telling him so but Ardyn was right about one thing : he couldn’t have asked the behemoth for a break just so they could speak to each other. The thing had been rabid, eager to kill and thrashing like a cornered beast. It probably even was better that Ardyn decided to leave before he got injured because of his lack of stamina.  
  
Noctis didn’t resist long, before he found his lover’s lips, to kiss them lazily, Ardyn answering to the gesture at the same, slow pace, their nose against one another, grabby hands on each other’s body and getting closer with each other. The night was calm around them, with only the moon as their only source of light and Noctis pulled Ardyn closer, when their lips parted, he nuzzled at his lover’s hair, closed his eyes.  
  
“I thought it had eaten you up,” the King admitted, as painful as it was and Ardyn didn’t move for a long time, until he kissed his throat.  
  
“I wouldn’t have let it keep me away from you, my love, for I’d rather die than to lose you.”  
  
If there was one thing Noctis had learnt, since they started to travel together, it was that Ardyn was one for grand declarations of love and it had been surprising, the first time Ardyn pronounced such words, the first time he opened up his heart in the purest way one could. Noctis had walked away, eyes wide and heart beating so fast in his chest it became painful. He hadn’t known how to react to it, he hadn’t known what to say and it took him several hours to go back to their camp and apologize.  
  
But Ardyn was a man of honesty. Speaking his feelings, being true to them, not going back on his words. A thing from the past, or so Noctis told himself with time but he had grown used to it. Addicted to it, even, as it made him feel like he truly mattered for the man, for being more than his savior, but the one he loved, too.  
  
“You and your big words ..” Noctis commented, thankful for the surrounding darkness to hide his embarrassment. His blood was burning his veins, as his heart was pounding into his chest, fast and hard and Noctis wasn’t certain he’d ever get used to this, that he’d ever want to get used to it. For he loved it, as much as it made him uncomfortable and he loved Ardyn, for being so blunt with him. As blunt as his friends could be, when they had to tell him off for something and Noctis had loved them for it, and he loved Ardyn for it just the same.  
  
For that, and the way Ardyn watched him sleep in the morning, as if he was the most precious gem in the world, the way Ardyn smiled for nothing, when they were silent, or only holding hands, the way Ardyn looked at him in the eyes. Noctis had fallen for Ardyn’s echo back in the Crystal, for that incomplete image of the man that had taught him so much, that had showed him another way to go, a way to survive and to spare an innocent’s life and he had fallen all over again for the real Ardyn, his pure soul occupying his own body again, for his smiles and his words and his touches and everything that made him.  
  
And Noctis had realized, a long time ago, that he could never had loved anyone, the way he loved Ardyn.  
  
“Sleep tight, my love, for we must fight again tomorrow night,” Ardyn whispered, trailing butterfly kisses on his throat, neck and face. “I fear your task is nowhere near done but I will follow you to the other side of the world, would you need it.”  
  
The light snore echoed around them soon again, stating that Ardyn had effectively fallen asleep but Noctis couldn’t close his eyes. He wanted to, he was exhausted and he needed to sleep, he always had been a heavy sleeper, after all but tonight felt different. For maybe he had been more scared for Ardyn’s life than he had first realized, with the panic he had felt when he noticed his lover wasn’t around anymore. He wanted to feel that Ardyn was here, with him, effectively, that he wasn’t going anywhere and Noctis spent the night kissing his lover’s head and holding him close.  
  
They didn’t stay around that area for a long time, after that. Not even a week, as they finished cleansing that nest that had been notified to the Citadel. A proper system had been put in place, for citizens to tell them where the daemons were hiding, so they could find them easily and Noctis sent messages to Prompto, who was in charge of the whole site, when they were done with an area, so he could lead them toward the next.  
  
The road was long, to their next stop, Noctis was driving the Regalia II toward the north, to a hill that seemed to shelter a dozen of daemons in one of its caverns and they stopped along the way, for food and shelter but they had to camp, the next nights. Ardyn was of camp duty, settling everything down for them while Noctis rested in the car. Having driven so much exhausted him to no end and Ardyn wasn’t allowed to drive, because of his condition. A promise they had made to Ignis, when they left Insomnia, to avoid accidents and it meant a lot, considering what a bad driver Noctis was.  
  
But the spot they had found to camp was an ancient haven, abandoned after the Scourge was destroyed. Small, yes but its runes still were active and would shelter them for the nights to come. It wasn’t rare that daemons decided it was a good idea to try and attack them while they were sleeping. They wouldn’t, tonight. They were going to be able to rest comfortably, without the fear of an attack.  
  
The night had settled already, when Ardyn came find him in the Regalia. Its hood was in place over Noctis’ head, as it had rained a little earlier, shielding him from the icy winds and Noctis blinked several times, when he heard his lover’s voice, when he heard Ardyn calling for him, he accepted Ardyn’s help to pull him out of the car but before he could think of anything else, Ardyn was placing his hands over his eyes, standing behind him.  
  
“What ..” Noctis muttered in surprise, immediately grabbing the other man’s wrists, wondering why Ardyn was acting so strangely.  
  
“Take some time to wake up, my love,” Ardyn’s voice was a soft murmur against his ear, making Noctis shiver in anticipation. It wasn’t often that Ardyn was using such a tone, full of mystery. The man was a playful, teasing person, always taunting, always pushing him and Noctis loved it all. This ? This was different and it only made Noctis wonder what was so special tonight. Had Ardyn prepared something for them ? For they never really dated, they merely kissed each other’s breath away one day, and silently decided they now were lovers. Had Ardyn cooked something special ? But Noctis could only smell the fire burning not so far away from them. Was it something .. sexual ? A fantasy Ardyn wanted to accomplish ? Yet, Ardyn’s hands were on his eyes, and he didn’t seem like he wanted to move them for now.  
  
And so, Noctis leant against his lover’s chest, taking some time, just as Ardyn suggested, pushing the sleepiness away. Which wasn’t the easiest task, when hands were shielding him from any light but Noctis stretched and he groaned and he eventually sighed.  
  
“I am awake,” the King stated, after a moment and Ardyn kissed the crook of his neck.  
  
“Behold, then, the beauty of your Kingdom.”  
  
With that, Ardyn pushed his hands away, freeing Noctis’ sight and Noctis blinked one last time. Then, he froze.  
  
It wasn’t a romantic dinner, it wasn’t some sort of a date either. The camp was exactly what it usually was. But the view. The view was something else.  
  
The moon had risen over the line of fir trees, over the mountains, full and bigger than Noctis ever saw before. Its almost bright light illuminating the whole area but the stars ? The stars were the true beauty of the night. Far from Insomnia, from every other big cities, with their light pollution, the stars were standing out in the darkness of the sky, whole constellations so easy to see tonight, so easy to recognize and Noctis had to remember how to breath.  
  
And the light reflected on the mountains and the trees, and even in the middle of the night, Noctis could see every inch of the valley that stretched far below, as they were stationed on top of a small hill. A lake, at the bottom, its surface mirroring the beautiful stars above them, calm and placid, so many trees, so many hills and Noctis had a hard time believing they hadn’t left the Kingdom, as he had never seen anything like this before.  
  
“There used to be a village,” Ardyn’s voice rose behind him, as his arms settled around Noctis’ waist and his head on his shoulder. “Right by the lake. Fishermen, farmers and miners. I came here, to heal their people, afflicted with the daemons. They would have given me everything in return.”  
  
Noctis didn’t answer, still shaken with the landscape, wondering what it looked like in the middle of the day. Just as beautiful, probably. But it wasn’t often that Ardyn spoke of these times, of the life he had before the Crystal rejected him. Noctis had heard some bribes of it through his echo, back in the Crystal but never too much. A touchy subject. One he would never push.  
  
“Travelling with you, my love, feels like I’m home again,” Ardyn continued, sadness and hope lacing with each other in his tone. “For you freed my soul from the Scourge, and allowed me to accompany you, I now want to redeem myself for all I’ve done, all the harm I’ve cause. As I am a healer, these memories plague my dreams more than I care to admit.”  
  
“Ardyn,” Noctis called out but Ardyn interrupted him with a soft shake of the head.  
  
“I will show your people that I am worth their trust, even if I never become your Consort,” Ardyn resumed his monologue. “You saved me, long after I handed my body to the Starscourge, you risked a lot to save someone like me and ..”  
  
“An innocent,” Noctis frowned, not caring for interrupting this time. He’d never go back on his opinion on Ardyn’s innocence. He had done terrible things afterward, under the influence of the daemons and how they manipulated his rage and his desire of revenge to their advantage. But Ardyn never was anything but an innocent, a healer, helping his people, freeing them from their affliction to his own downfall when the Crystal rejected his impurity.  
  
“And I can never thank you enough for it,” Ardyn stated, his arms tightening around his waist and Noctis’s lips pulled into a smile. “Allow me, then, to say it at least once : I love you, Noctis, and mays the stars and the Moon and the Astrals, even, be my witness, I will never leave your side.”  
  
Noctis felt his heart burst into his chest, as the declaration and he wanted to curse. Suddenly, he was feeling like a teenager again, living his first crush and blushing and not knowing what he was supposed to say but he really wasn’t. He was Noctis Lucis Caelum, Chosen King of Light, Savior of Eos, Contender of the Astrals. He had faced the greatest plague his Kingdom ever encountered, he had defeated it on his own and yet, a simple declaration of love was leaving him wordless.  
  
Noctis searched for words for a full minute, his lips parted, his eyes wide and his heartbeat so fast he wondered if he wasn’t going to have a heart attack but he decided that speaking was useless, now. Words couldn’t begin to describe how he was feeling and, instead, Noctis turned to his lover, wrapping his arms around his neck and he pulled him into a deep yet slow kiss. As his body could speak a better way than his voice, now, as he could show Ardyn how truly affected he was by his words and Ardyn merely smiled, his hands slipping under his clothes, to settle on the lower part of his back, where his scar stood.  
  
Neither of them slept, that night. Their bodies had a lot to talk about, once they found shelter into their tent. Their next hunt could wait the next day, they had silently decided, as people were now safe in villages and towns and it would do them good, to take a small break. And Noctis never stopped smiling, when the two of them settled on their sleeping bags, too high on his feelings. Too high on love. And he’d defy his Gods again, were he to do it all over again.  
  
He would, and he’d save Ardyn every time. For Ardyn was his soulmate, and Noctis would rather die, before he ever pierced his heart the way he did, once, in the worst nightmare he ever had. Images of a time that was not meant to be, Noctis had decided when he had woken up near Ardyn, that time. Sent to him by the gods he decided to turn his back to.  
  
But it was the best decision Noctis ever made in his whole life, the King thought when his eyes settled on the man by his side. And one day, he was going to marry him.


End file.
